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+--- Thread: It Starts Again (/showthread.php?tid=203035)
It Starts Again - Nodoka Hanamura - 05-24-2024
OCS Abdicant Seraphine Carrier Battlegroup
Unknown System, Deep Space
August 22nd, 825 AS - 20:20 Sirian Mean Time
Unknown System, Deep Space
August 22nd, 825 AS - 20:20 Sirian Mean Time
The fleet of Ouroboros moved ever onward into the deep void of space, having been few months seperated from the Sigmas, and after several jumps, found themselves deep in space, working their way manually to the Taus, under dark cloak of the vast emptiness. Aboard the Seraphine, the crew are preparing to make one of their last jumps, this time, bringing them within visual range of Tau-44, and nearer to the Barrier. The bridge is strangely quiet as Hanamura and her team work to prepare for the jump.
"Kobayashi, status report - how's the Jump Drive looking?" Hanamura asks of the at one time, Diplomatic head of Ouroboros. She thankfully, spent time before joining the GC and later Ouroboros, in school for astronomics, and was somewhat familiar with her duty as head Navigation and Astrometerology officer.
"Solar winds are fair, quantum tunneling conditions are optimal and we're outside of the lagrange point of SIP 932201 and 942101c - we should be safe to begin the jump as planned, ma'am." she answers, the brown haired woman observing and watching for abnormalities. Jae-un, having been bored out of her mind, had been tasked instead with Bridge Engineering and Systems oversight, whilst Alexei was down in Maintenance decks monitoring the situation at hand.
Hanamura's visage stares off into the depths, the barrier faintly visible in the distance. Thoughts of regret about sending Mieko back to Sirius alone manifest in her mind, but she knows that a few months doing Ouroboros a service by finding a safe place for them to call home would be a understandable risk to take.
"Miranov to Bridge - we're detecting slight abnormalities but nothing out of acceptable parameters. Engineering is go for jump." A voice is heard through the bridge intercom, as Alexei gives the go ahead.
Silence resumes over the Bridge, before Setsuna chimes in once more. "Hanamura-sama, you might want to see this." she says, slightly concerned.
Jae-un begins to initialize the jump drive, as Hanamura approaches Kobayashi. "What is it?" she asks of her.
"Unknown Dark matter burst - origin unknown.. specifications are well beyond safe limits, and it's moving at great pace.. Hanamura-sama, we need to abort the Jump!" Setsuna declares somewhat loudly, concerned. Hanamura shifts her gaze to Jae-un. "Bride, Emergency spindown, now!" she orders to her.
Jae-un desperately tries to bring down the jump drive before the storm hits, but to no avail. "Jump drive device file's locked! It's not responding to commands!"
Hanamura runs over to Jae-un's station, and observes her as she tries to reattempt the shutdown. Setsuna chimes in once more. "Storm TTI is 30 seconds! Hanamura-taichou, I strongly advise we move to brace!" she shouts from across the room. The rest of the crew are desperately monitoring the situation, personally bracing themselves for what's about to happen.
"Goddamn it! Come on, you Zoner piece of garbage, spin down!" Jae-un shouts once more, banging at the console, desperately trying to force the system down.
Hanamura patches in to Alexei over a secure local neural net line. "Alexei, We need an emergency shutdown, now! Dark Matter storm is imminent!"
Alexei responds over the net. His unit, the 3rd Maintenance Squadron, moves to the Jump Drive bay to attempt a rapid manual shutdown. "Vas ponyal, komandir! We're on the way."
Hanamura looks back to Jae-un. "Keep trying to bring that damned thing offline." Jae-un simply obliges with a nod, as her finger rapidly type at the keyboard, attempting to negotiate with the ship's syscon software.
The commander runs back to her chair, and begins to strap herself in as she orders the crew to brace. "All hands, brace for dark matter storm, 10 seconds! Brace, Brace, Brace!" Hanamura's voice echoes across the ship, as crew aboard rush to emergency seating for the impending storm.
[20:22:19 0822824] CRITICAL: Jump drive failure detected.
[20:22:19 0822824] DETAILS: Jump drive subsystem failed to initialize properly.
[20:22:19 0822824] ACTION: Initiating emergency shutdown procedure to prevent further damage.
[20:22:20 0822824] STATUS: user nhanamura ordered all hands to general quarters.
[20:22:24 0822824] CRITICAL: Jump drive offline. Ship navigation and FTL capabilities compromised.
[20:22:26 0822824] CAUSE: Potential malfunction in the quantum flux regulator. Further investigation required.
[20:22:26 0822824] CRITICAL: Main reactor failure - SCADA access offline, auxiliary SCRAM required..
[20:22:26 0822824] CAUSE: Jump Drive voltage overload from backbuilding power reserves. Initializing MOX auxiliary powerplant..
[20:22:28 0822824] WARNING: High probability of cascading system failures. Extreme caution advised.
[20:22:30 0822824] EMERGENCY: Priority distress signal broadcasted via /dev/comms/ftlrd0 to nearby vessels and stations.
A wave of dark energy strikes the Seraphine and her battlegroup. The ships are all shaken by the burst, but the Seraphine is indoubtetly hit the hardest. Energy from the Jump drive is expended as it back-builds onto the propulsion bus, and starts a cascading series of failures. Hanamura moves out of her seat as soon as the dust settles, rushing to the fore of her station, looking out at the crew on the bridge. Hanamura calls out to Jae-un. "Battle Damage Assessment!"
"Jump drive failure, it discharged all its' power onto the main bus! Attempting to divert to one of our capacitor banks!" Jae-un responds.
"Kobayashi, report!" Hanamura orders, shifting her sights onto Setsuna.
"Dark Matter Wave has passed but its' power is building, on a course for Sirius!" Setsuna answers, unaware of what that wave in its' future may have in store for the sector.
"Shift focus to assisting in DC with Jae-un! Speaking of --" Hanamura says, before stopping herself to switch to the intercom. "ALL Hands, all Hands, general quarters - all members of 3rd Maintenance Squadron, report to Engineering - all damage control teams move to standby!" she says through the intercom, as klaxons begin to blare across the ship, and emergency lights shift the vessel into a modest red tone of light. The ship's lights and other systems shortly thereafter, go out.
Seconds later, they kick back on, terminals resuming as they were. "Reactor's down - The thing just bought the farm! Hanamura, we're dead in the water!"
"Shit.." Hanamura says under her breath. "Bring up the MOX powerplant! Notify the Mendicant Didact we'll need their maintenance teams to come aboard for repairs!"
Kobayashi responds to Hanamura's order. "Yes ma'am, I'll hail them now." she says, moving to initiate a hailing channel with the Democritus-class vessel.
[20:22:46 0822824] ALERT: Primary propulsion bus experiencing critical overload.
[20:22:47 0822825] RESOLUTION: Diverting overvoltage to capacitor bank C1. (/dev/ppl/caps3c0)
[20:22:49 0822825] ACTION: Redirecting power flow to stabilize auxiliary systems (/dev/ppl/rec_aux).
[20:22:52 0822825] WARNING: Life support systems (/dev/lss) operating at reduced capacity. Crew advised to conserve resources.
[20:22:59 0822825] STATUS: Isolation protocols activated. Local group datalink enabled.
[20:22:59 0222825] CRITICAL: Catastrophic capacitor bank C1 failure! (/dev/pps/caps3c0)
[20:22:59 0822825] CAUTION: External hull integrity (/dev/sensr/hullint/deck0s11) compromised in Deck A, Sector 12. Sealant deployment initiated.
[20:23:03 0822825] NOTICE: User kharada disconnected - LIFESIGNS_TERM
[20:23:03 0822825] NOTICE: User npersens disconnected - LIFESIGNS_TERM
[20:23:03 0822825] NOTICE: User ychang disconnected - LIFESIGNS_TERM
[20:23:04 0822825] NOTICE: User msakurada disconnected - LIFESIGNS_TERM
[20:23:04 0822825] NOTICE: User sonoda disconnected - LIFESIGNS_TERM
[20:23:10 0822825] ALERT: Distress signal terminated - reason: INFOSEC/OPSEC override - user: skobayashi
[20:23:15 0822825] NOTICE: User bride executed '/bin/zsh /usr/ops/maint/scram_jd'
[20:23:15 0822825] NOTICE: User bride executed '/bin/zsh /usr/ops/maint/scram_c0'
An explosion rings out on the Seraphine. "We just lost Cap C1! Fire and breach in Sector 12, Deck Alpha!" Jae-un declares to Hanamura.
"Any casualties!?" Hanamura responds back, before committing. "Seal the compromised blocks!"
"We lost five of our men just now!" Jae-un retorts.
Hanamura slams the railing with her fist, furious at herself and at this accursed vessel she is aboard. What would have once potentially been a ship to lead a revolt, is now a bucket of bolts, barely holding together - and to boot, it's killing her men in the process. At this point she wonders if she would have been better off leaving the ship behind at Vierques. But in the end, she realizes it's too late for such thinking.
"DC Teams, to Deck A Sector 12!" Hanamura declares over the Intercom, before turning to Kobayashi. "Strangle the distress beacon - we don't need anything with tentacles potentially getting wind that we're down and out!" Hanamura continues, shouting her order. Kobayashi obliges, shutting off the distress beacon, but resuming communications with the rest of the fleet.
Jae-un speaks up. "I've managed to bring down the jump drive and reactor.. day late and a credit short, but.."
Hanamura retorts, irritated but understanding. "Better than nothing, I suppose." she says, before a bridge intercom message comes through.
"Bridge - this is Miranov - we're on station at the reactor room - We're dealing with hard radiation in here, and fuel line failures - the containment casing's cracked.."
"Vital information only! Can we fix it!?" Hanamura responds, irritated.
"Nyet, we can't fix it! Not without a shipyard, and by the time we get back to Sirius the ship will be laden to the brim with radiation!"
Setsuna, Jae-un and the rest of the crew stop what they're doing, and turn to Hanamura. She's visibly annoyed, frustrated and disappointed.
"The Reactor, is it going to go critical?" Hanamura inquires, trying to ascertain the situation.
"The powerplant's still stable enough to undergo SCRAM if we hurry. MOX generators will kick on to emergency battleshort to stablize the reactor bus until it completes scram."
"What's the odds of the generators failing?" she says in question, trying to understand the risks at hand.
"Minimal, they're LIvadia generators - things could withstand 50 dark matter storms and still run on all 4."
Hanamura thinks to herself, before resuming. Great, so they give us a reactor that melts down at the sight of a dark matter storm but a MOX generator only good for twiddling our thumbs until the Nomads kill us all - fantastic.
"How long do we have before the radiation spreads and reaches LD50?" Hanamura says, depressed.
Alexei can be heard sighing over the intercom. "Too long to worry if we evacuate. Propulsion's about to die and the MOX generators are only for emergency power, not for propulsion."
"I'm sorry Hanamura. This deep in space, and without proper resources - she's done. The Seraphine's done." he says, as the bridge falls silent save the blaring alarms. "I'm sorry. I advise we move to muster stations, ma'am."
Hanamura moves to issue an order to Setsuna and Bride. "Jae-un, bring down the reactor - Setsuna, monitor the readings on that whole subsystem.
Hanamura is visibly upset at the words said before her. All the hard work she has put in, trying to keep Ouroboros in one piece, and now - the flagship is falling apart at the seams. However, she knows full well they will survive, even with the ship being gone. And that's what matters now, more than ever - survival.
Hanamura's voice blares over the alarms throughout the ship.
"This is Supreme Commander Nodoka Hanamura to all hands. Code Kita. Code Kita. Flight Decks and flight crew begin emergency scramble and transfer of all snubcraft to the Utsunomiya and Haneda. Logistics teams, prepare removal of all assets. Sanzu DEVGRU, 3rd Maintenance and Hakugyokurou Diplomatic Affairs Directorate personnel, assume secondary evacuation roles. All hands to muster stations. All hands to muster stations. Abandon ship. Abandon ship."
The crew of the bridge begin to move out, save Hanamura and Jae-un, the latter of which steps up to the commander's station, stepping behind and placing her hand on Hanamura's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Hanamura. Wish I could have done something."
"It was all a matter of time, anyways. How long until we get to Sirius, without the jump drive? Do you know?" Hanamura responds, before turning to Jae-un. The woman responds with a dire report. "By my estimates.. We should arrive by 834 AS." She answers. Hanamura's face is filled with guilt and regret.
".. So.. Mieko's going to be alone.. for nearly a decade." Hanamura says, requesting a clarification out of trying to realize things. "Look, I'm sure she'll understand. Fuck, we have the Casket protocol for this kinda thing, yeah?"
"Do we have enough for the whole fleet? And is Mercury able to handle controlling the fleet in our absence?" Hanamura asks of her. "Yeah. Fuck, Utsunomiya's Deck G is all cryo. You can thank Alexei finding those second-hand Samura ones. We'll have Mercury datalinked to the rest of the fleet and get the pods off Seraphine onto the others."
Hanamura's clearly dissatisfied with the situation, but she would rather not run the risk of everyone going insane or starving given they were definitely not prepared for a 10 year anything.
[20:23:15 0822825] ALERT: Jump Drive is going down NOW for emergency shutdown - agent bride set bus purge route.
[20:23:15 0822825] ALERT: Reactor is going down NOW for emergency shutdown - SCRAM procedure initiating..
[20:23:19 0822825] ALERT: Navigation system failure, in emergency mode - waiting for user honya for reinit..
[20:23:21 0822825] CRITICAL: Propulsion bus voltage below 19.23GV - Propulsion failure imminent!
[20:23:23 0822825] CRITICAL: Engine Block A failure - insufficient ion propulsion..
[20:23:23 0822825] CRITICAL: Engine Block B failure - insufficient ion propulsion..
[20:23:27 0822825] ACTION: User amiranov reports catastrophic powerplant failure.
[20:24:00 0822825] CRITICAL: non-emergency evacuation order issued by user nhanamura.
[20:24:00 0822825] MESSAGE: ALL HANDS ALL HANDS ALL HANDS - CODE KITA - CODE KITA - CODE KITA - COMMENCE TO MUSTER STATIONS FOR SCUTTLE.
The ship's crew began to scramble across the ship to their muster stations, from every deck, as the Seraphine's fighter and logistics units, with assistance from their aiding robots, begin moving and disassembling belongings and assets from the ship, preparing them for transport to the Utsunomiya.
Hanamura's next words are to Alexei. "Alexei, leave Morisato in charge of your unit - report to the bridge." She says over her neural lace, as she stares out from the bridge into the black.
"Vas ponyal. I'll be there shortly, ma'am." he answers over the secure comm line.
"So.. are we ditching the Seraphine? Towing it?" Jae-un asks of Hanamura.
"Even if we shut down the reactor, there's still going to be leaking and breached hull sections--" Kobayashi answers, before Hanamura places her hand in front of her to stop talking.
"The Seraphine deserves better than to sit here as a husk. She went through heaven and hell with us, as short as it was." Hanamura says wistfully. "We'll scuttle the Seraphine with a Reactor detonation - set it on a timer so we have time to move equipment off and get to minimum safe distance. If you have belongings - get them once we take this to vote."
"Mercury." She calls, to the ship's general AI. The entity is a female form, soft-spoken and reserved, bearing teal hair and a caucasian complexion, as her black and teal bodysuit, modified since her adoption into Ouroboros, manifests itself virtually before them.
"Yes, Commander."
"Initiate Scuttle Plan 19. Wildcat reactor override for critical mass cook-off and detonation, 8 hour delay."
Mercury nods in the affirmative. "Awaiting the following users for quorum before we can begin - Elena Graham. Akira Kiyoshi, Cassiopeia Graham, Mieko Iekahara, Alexei Miranov."
"Mercury, emergency override. Elena, Cassiopeia, Mieko and Akira are in absentia." Hanamura responds.
"Understood. Awaiting Alexei Miranov to initiate vote." Mercury answers monotonously.
As she finishes, Alexei comes into the bridge via the main entrance, stepping towards the captain's chair with the rest of the group. "What's this?" He asks.
"We're moving to begin Plan 19." Hanamura responds, somewhat dejectedly.
".. I know how much she means to you, Hanamura. I vote in favor." Alexei answers.
"Vote clarification - the vote for Scuttle Action #19 is postponed pending a quorum override." Mercury answers, leaving Alexei to roll his eyes irritatedly. "For fuck's.. Fine. I approve the override."
"Alexei Miranov votes in favor of quorum override. Awaiting additional votes."
"I vote Yay." Setsuna chimes in.
"Setsuna Kobayashi votes in favor of quorum overr-" Mercury reports again, before Jae-un interrupts.
"Yay." Jae-un answers, before Hanamura does the same.
"Vote is unanimous. Quorum override approved. Commence with vote for-" Mercury reports once more, before she is interrupted bluntly again.
"YES." the four answer in near unison.
Mercury stands there to process the matter. "Acknowledged - unanimous vote recorded, cronjob for Scuttle Action #19 has been flagged to execute in 8 hours."
[20:30:10 0822825] CRITICAL: Hydroponics systems failure, LSS playtime is 7 hours, 22 minutes, 9 seconds.
[20:30:20 0822824] NOTICE: nhanamura requested quorum vote for reactor-based vessel scuttle - arguments : TTC=9h0m0s safe=no rmdata=true
[20:32:21 0822824] VOTE: bride voted yay for scuttle.
[20:32:25 0822824] VOTE: amiranov voted yay for scuttle.
[20:32:28 0822824] VOTE: skobayashi voted yay for scuttle.
[20:32:30 0822824] VOTE-ERROR: egraham absent - waiting 30 seconds for check-in.
[20:32:30 0822824] VOTE-ERROR: akiyoshi absent - waiting 30 seconds for check-in.
[20:32:30 0822824] VOTE-ERROR: cgraham absent - waiting 30 seconds for check-in.
[20:32:30 0822824] VOTE-ERROR: miekahara absent - vital quorum warning..
[20:32:45 0822824] NOTICE: nhanamura requested impromptu quorum override. - reason: users egraham, akiyoshi, cgraham, miekahara in absentia.
[20:32:50 0822824] VOTE: bride voted yay for override.
[20:32:51 0822824] VOTE: amiranov voted yay for override.
[20:32:54 0822824] VOTE: skobayashi voted yay for override.
[20:33:00 0822824] NOTICE: quorum override accepted - reactor-base vessel scuttle initiated.
[20:33:03 0822824] NOTICE: user mercury executed '/bin/zsh /usr/emerg/scut/plan-19 --ttc=9h --safe=no --rmdata=true
Hanamura stands before the door to Mieko's quarters. Guilt washes over her as she cannot look away from the name of the person she saw as a sister in arms.. a friend.. and something more. Her chest swells briefly as she takes a deep breath, and opens the sliding door. It had been just as Mieko had left it, a sparse room with a desk, bed, dresser and other such furniture, the door to her bathroom open. Hanamura notices a picture wall, assorted photos of Mieko, her sister and Hanamura, and countless others - The Harpies, Aiko and Akira, Leviathan and Vex, a picture of Kyle Vaughn, a stray picture of Mia, the Order AI who took residence inside the Sekhet Aaru, even a photo from the date she and Mieko had with Ezrael Vertiga and his partner - as well as a picture of Marisa, kneeled next to Mieko as she stood on the hologram platform she once called home aboard the Navigium Ejus, all those years ago. She held such great appreciation for her friends. And now, all of them are long gone from Mieko - and Hanamura bears the brunt of the guilt for it.
Such sweet memories felt like so long ago now. "I'm sorry, Mieko-chan. I failed to keep you safe.. I hope.. you can find it in your heart to forgive me. Wherever you are." She says, tears in her eyes, as she tries to retain her composure. But after all, she breaks down on her knees, and lets her heart give way, crying audible. Jae-un and Amelie - one of Ouroboros' few Gallic members are seen in the outside hallway, carrying belongings together, before Jae-un stops, Amelie following suit.
"Go on without me." Jae-un says. Amelie, understanding the hardship from when she has chased down Noel from Gallia to the Sigmas to reunite with her - nods, and moves on towards the hangar with her belongings. Bride meanwhile, steps into her sister's quarters, seeing Hanamura on her knees, in tears, bawling. Sympathy overwhelms her code, the empathy for Hanamura predominant.
As the woman starts to calm down, Jae-un approaches, her hand on Hanamura's shoulder, gently. Jae-un deep down, knows why she is upset.
".. You can't keep beating yourself up over it, Nodoka." Jae-un comments. "So we got ourselves in a bad spot. We're still alive at the end of the day. It's gonna take us time.. but we'll get back to her sooner or later."
Hanamura calms down a bit more, able to retort. "And.. and what if she's dead.. when we get there..?"
".. Then we mourn her.. and try to move on. I remember what you said once.. we can't stop to mourn forever. We have to move on - for us and for them." Jae-un answers, stoically. The once emotional woman now trying to control the situation.
"She's my sister. And you love her. I do too. Different ways, yes.. But she'll find a way back to us. One way or another." she continues. Hanamura turns and stands before Bride, her eyes red as beets and tears welling up again as she looks at Mieko's sister. The woman rushes to hug her tightly, crying once more. Jae-un is unfazed by it, only to in short form after, hold her friend and superior tightly, consoling her.
"We've been through a lot, Hanamura. No sense in stopping now. I didn't give up in Auxesia, did I?" Jae-un says, calling back to her brief time in Auxesia. Whilst she left with the Harpies, she never truly 'gave up'. She fought, kicked and screamed.. but eventually willed herself almost to the goal of completing her trials. Were it not for the Harpies' departure - she definitely would have earned it.
Hanamura moments later, calms down. "Yes.. you're right.. Mieko.. she would have wanted us to keep fighting. For her."
Jae-un nods, a smile on her face forming. "That's right Miss tits. Now let's get her stuff put up so we can get off this melting shitshow. We've got a long way to go, and I don't want to get home late for dinner."
Normally, Hanamura would be angered by Jae-un's callousness, but now? She laughed a bit, at Jae-un, and at herself.
"Yeah. Come help me with these, will you?" Hanamura asks, as Jae-un nods in affirmation, helping take down the photos gently.
Some time has passed, and the Seraphine is left in a state of abandonment. The once decorated mess hall, barren - the quarters, devoid of personal belongings, the armory, cleaned out. Hanamura stands before the sigil of the Abdicant Seraphine on the bridge. Giving it one last glance before she gives her a final send off. She holds a AI QPU adaptor card in her hand, with the word MERCURY written on tan tape in black marker on the back of the card. Hanamura steps out of the bridge, disabling the lights remotely, before heading towards the command escape pod. the ship minutes away from beginning the scuttling procedure. Bride, Kobayashi, Miranov and others of the command team await Hanamura's arrival inside the pod. She walks around the corner, and into the escape pod, sealing the door behind her.
She finds a seat next to Jae-un, who remotely activates the pod, firing it. A jolt upward sends the saucer-like pod out into space, firing towards the Utsunomiya in the distance with extreme precision, aiming to be tractored aboard. As it closes in, it fires off retrothrusters, zeroing out its' velocity to match the Utsunomiya.
As the escape pods are tractored in one by one, Hanamura and Bride link in remotely to the ship's standard output, to monitor the scuttling procedure.
[05:30:00 0823824] NOTICE: Intentional scuttling protocol initiated by prior quorum.
[05:30:15 0823824] ACTION: Main reactor initialization sequence initiated.
[05:30:30 0823824] ALERT: Power surge detected, reaching 4.5 GW.
[05:31:00 0823824] WARNING: Reactor coolant flow rate dropping, core temperature rising.
[05:31:30 0823824] ALERT: Reactor core temperature exceeding safe limits, reaching 6100 Kelvin.
[05:32:30 0823824] ALERT: Hull breaches detected in Engine Room, Sectors A and B.
[05:32:33 0823824] ALERT: Hull breaches detected in Ammunition Store Block C.
[05:33:00 0823824] ALERT: Critical systems offline in Engineering Bay.
[05:32:33 0823824] ALERT: Hull breaches detected in Ammunition Store Block C.
[05:33:30 0823824] WARNING: Radiation levels rising, reaching 1500 microsieverts per hour.
[05:32:33 0823824] ALERT: Radiation leak detected in Main Mess Hall.
[05:32:33 0823824] ALERT: Radiation leak detected in Flight Deck 1..
[05:32:33 0823824] ALERT: Shield failure - reinitializing in 30 seconds..
[05:34:00 0823824] CAUTION: Structural integrity compromised in Command Deck, Hull Section C.
[05:34:30 0823824] ALERT: Reactor containment breach detected. Radioactive material leaking into surrounding areas.
[05:35:00 0823824] ALERT: Secondary explosions reported in Engineering Bay.
[05:35:30 0823824] WARNING: Critical radiation levels detected throughout the ship.
[05:36:00 0823824] ALERT: Atmospheric pressure dropping in breached sections.
[05:36:33 0823824] CRITICAL: Coolant line fires detected in Decks A, C, F, G, and R. Critical meltdown imminent.
[05:36:30 0823824] CRITICAL: Main reactor core breach imminent. Power surge detected at 8.5 GW. Energy expenditure expected to be 495GN. Total vessel loss imminent.
The Seraphine started to glow, as fires spilled out along her decks, venting into deep space. The ship's reactor running wild and uncontrolled, the last cry of Livadia's child turned the flagship of a once ambitious cause beyond that of the Zoner's banner. Explosions rang out along the ship as fuel lines and ammunition stores cooked off, failing - radiation bellowing through the ship as it begins to reach its' final glory. The glow grew brighter and brighter - until finally - the end.
She would be engulfed in a burst of light, the force shattering the hull into hundreds of millions of fragments, leaving only scrap parts of the superstructure intact. As the light dims from the now obliterated reactor, the crew of the Utsunomiya, and all of the other surviving ships of Ouroboros, would stop, and stare at the now fallen ship. The crews collectively, slowly raise their arms in salute.
Hanamura, watching from the pod, along with the others does the same.
"In sacrifice to Kusari. To the future of Mankind. The Seraphine gave her all for us, in the bitter end. Glory forever, to the Abdicant Seraphine." Hanamura speaks, over the factional net. Staring down at the place she once called home - now a burnt and irradiated husk.
The Utsunomiya's huge cargo hold had been retrofitted and modified to serve as a long-term cryostasis bay - made for just such an occasion, where rapid travel back to Sirius would no longer be an option. The crew of the various ships of the fleet had amassed aboard the ship, the AI aboard being given directives and oversight by Mercury, who would oversee the flight back to Sirius due to their AI-based nature.
Hanamura stares into her pod. Much like centuries ago, she must now again, step foot into the same device that took her life from her - the life with her family - and hope that on the other side of the freeze, she would be reunited with Mieko. She opens the pod, and steps inside. Jae-un comes around, to seal her in, and activate the pod. Stoic and reserved, Jae-un salutes to Hanamura, before speaking one last time to her. "See you later, Hanamura."
The pod initializes, the temperature inside rapidly dropping, as nanites inside begin to regulate Hanamura's body and mind to a stable temperature, ensuring that no brain or body damage occurs in the process. Eventually, she is put to sleep, as are the countless others.
Mercury stands at the helm of the Utsunomiya, replicas of her visible at the various stations, thanks to the hardlight hologram technology that Birdie had created quite some time ago.
"Forward, to home." she utters softly, as the ships of the fleet move forward in formation with the Utsunomiya, towards the Barrier, well far into the distant depths of space.
RE: It Starts Again - Nodoka Hanamura - 07-11-2024
OCS Abdicant Seraphine Utsunomiya Carrier Battlegroup
742,000,000 SAU (0.3~Ly) from Tau-29-1
July 3rd, 834 AS - 09:13 Sirian Mean Time
742,000,000 SAU (0.3~Ly) from Tau-29-1
July 3rd, 834 AS - 09:13 Sirian Mean Time
Aboard the Utsunomiya, all is quiet - and mostly had been for nearly a decade, save the constant maintenance work of Mercury and her lesser 'agents' meandering around the ships of the fleet by way of the Doppelganger system that Elena had developed long ago. To say the fleet had managed to withstand such a long time without fuel, repair or other maintenance is a testament to the Ouroboros' capabilities under intense pressure.
Mercury sits at the helm, having spent her days analysing and entertaining - if a more.. introverted and unemotional AI, could be - herself with the caches of reports, records and other media aboard the Utsunomiya. She ponders over the report for Hanamura's encounter with her parents' spirits by way of the Elysium system, in her working memory.
"It is quite interesting that spiritual manifestations could be present in our universe - I have reviewed this document every 230 solar cycles approximately, along with all other documents, videos and recordings - all in an attempt to avoid rampancy.. and It eludes me how 'finely tuned interference' to such a degree at such a low resonant frequency is possible to generate hallucinations across multiple people that appears in the same fashion. And what is more, Supreme Commander Hanamura is taking the words of these so-called spirits as fact.. that is if Nanami Hanamura has not been discharged or otherwise neutralized - or if she does not exist as a living entity at all."
Mercury continues to ponder on the matter, before an automated 'cronjob' message is sent to her, having been set by Bride.
CRON NOTICE ACTIVATION. TYPE: MESSAGE DATETIME CODE: 26302785420 (3 JULY 834 - 0915)
MSG: FROM : SONG, JAE-UN
TO: MERCURY
MSG: CRYO DEFROST PRE-REQUEST "LET ME OUT OF THIS F@*$ING THING - REF HIGHCOM DIRECTIVE 43094 | OMICRON DELTA EIGHT TWO THREE -- CERTAIN SOLUMN PROMISE
Mercury idles on the message, before invoking the defrost on Jae-un's cryopod.
In the depths of Deck G, among the thousands of cryopods crammed into the ship's massive cargo hold, an alarm rings out from the lower cryo bays. The pod marked as 0742 begins to vent nitrogen out from its' seals as it begins to bring Jae-un's body up to higher temperatures, the magneto-hermetic seals slowly 'blowing' as the pod gradually warms. As her body warms up, internal sensors detect the rise in temperature, and kickstart her QPU.
OUROBOROS K/WA-11 COMPATIBLE FRAMEWORK UEFI
A OPEN COMPUTING ALLIANCE ALLY
KISHIRO KWA11 LOVELY SWEET DREAM QPU SOCKET, 91.23B VNEURONS ACTIVATED
QPU READY
ERAM STATUS: 2,000,000GB RAM CHECK OK
QMOUNT1 MASTER: OOTORI RESEARCH RE-29313 3D EMMC - 16PB
QMOUNT1 SLAVE: OOTORI RESEARCH RE-10233 REMMC - 930GB
QMOUNT2 MASTER: N/A
QMOUNT2 SLAVE: N/A
DETECTING EXTERNAL INTERFACE DEVICES.. 1x OUROBOROS SANZU R&D INGENNUS-ALIKE "RACHMIEL" HYBRID HUMAN SHELL DETECTED.
INITIALIZING BOOTLOADER.
RACHMIEL BODY OS FRONTEND FOR K/WA-11 AI SUBSYSTEMS
BASED ON ZONER LINUX 102.30 ('BOUNDLESS')
[ OK ] Reached target Paths.
[ OK ] Reached target Basic System.
[ OK ] Found device RE-29313 3D EMMC.
[ OK ] Found device RE-10233 REMMC.
[ OK ] Started dracut initqueue hook.
Starting dracut pre-mount hook...
[ OK ] Started dracut pre-mount hook.
Starting File System Check on RE-29313 3D EMMC....
Starting File System Check on RE-10233 REMMC....
[ OK ] Started File System Check on RE-29313 3D EMMC.
[ OK ] Started File System Check on RE-10233 REMMC.
Mounting /sysroot...
[ OK ] Mounted /sysroot.
[ OK ] Reached target Initrd Root File System.
Starting Reload Configuration from the Real Root...
[ OK ] Started Reload Configuration from the Real Root.
[ OK ] Reached target Initrd File Systems.
[ OK ] Reached target Initrd Default Target.
[ OK ] Stopped Switch Root.
[ OK ] Stopped target Switch Root.
[ OK ] Stopped target Initrd File Systems.
[ OK ] Stopped target Initrd Root File System.
Starting Collect Read-Ahead Data...
[ OK ] Created slice User and Session Slice.
[ OK ] Reached target Remote File Systems (Pre).
[ OK ] Reached target Remote File Systems.
[ OK ] Reached target System Time Synchronized.
[ OK ] Reached target Shell Cognitive Initialization.
[ OK ] Listening on Delayed Shutdown Socket.
[ OK ] Listening on /dev/initctl Compatibility Named Pipe.
Starting Rule generator for /dev/root symlink...
[ OK ] Stopped Trigger Flushing of Journal to Persistent Storage.
Stopping Journal Service...
[ OK ] Stopped Journal Service.
Starting Journal Service...
[ OK ] Reached target Paths.
Mounting Debug File System...
[ OK ] Set up automount Arbitrary Executable File Formats File System Automount Point.
Starting Create list of required static device nodes for the current kernel...
Mounting NNPOSIX Message Queue File System...
Mounting Neural Memory Paging System...
[ OK ] Listening on MBFS state daemon socket..
[ OK ] Listening on Device-mapper event daemon FIFOs.
Starting Device-mapper event daemon...
Expecting device dev-disk-by\x2duuid-b8736234\x2d9b90\x2d461b\x2da9db\x2ddd7146428838.device...
Expecting device dev-disk-by\x2duuid-3911fc92\x2da5b9\x2d4434\x2d8c0e\x2d475e91bb52e9.device...
[ OK ] Listening on pndev Kernel Socket.
[ OK ] Listening on pndev Control Socket.
Starting neuromuscular reiginition...
Caloric expenditure - 100kcal, expend nominal
[ OK ] Started Create list of required static device nodes for the current kernel.
Starting Create static device nodes in /dev...
[ OK ] Started Collect Read-Ahead Data.
Starting Load Kernel Modules...
Starting Remount Root and Kernel File Systems...
[ OK ] Started Rule generator for /dev/root symlink.
[ OK ] Started LVM2 metadata daemon.
[ OK ] Started Device-mapper event daemon.
[ OK ] Started Load Kernel Modules.
Starting Apply Kernel Variables...
[ OK ] Started Journal Service.
[ OK ] Started npdev Coldplug all Devices.
Starting npdev Wait for Complete Device Initialization...
[ OK ] Started Apply Kernel Variables.
[ OK ] Started Create static device nodes in /dev.
Starting npdev Kernel Device Manager...
[ OK ] Started npdev Kernel Device Manager.
[ OK ] Mounted Debug File System.
[ OK ] Mounted NNPOSIX Message Queue File System.
[ OK ] Mounted Neural Memory Paging System.
[ OK ] Reached target Neuromuscular and Cognitive Reignition.
[ OK ] Started BCI Datalink..
Awaiting handshake from Neural Lace Proxy Agent...
Requesting session from BCI...
Session created for 'palebride', passing direct control to GAI.
[ OK ] Reached target BCI Datalink... READY.
![[Image: 7qEWPOs.png]](https://i.imgur.com/7qEWPOs.png)
A few months before the day they return - as she had planned. She would wake Hanamura up in due time, but wanted to debrief with Mercury before relieving her of her duties. She walks along the catwalk, before turning to see Hanamura, still resting inside her cryopod. She looks on at her, a bit saddened. "Sorry, Nodoka. I could never say it to your face but.. I'm sorry. About everything. I hope this time around I can make you proud." she says, placing her hand on the glass. She knows that her wishes were to be awoken later, but she breathes in deep, and centers herself, using the techniques learned from her time in Auxesia. "In due time, Jae. In due time." She says, before walking on down the catwalk, to a nearby elevator.
She watches the elevator rise higher and higher through the ship - eventually past the dormant recreation deck, memories of Hanamura and Aiko by the pool running through her mind as she looks at it from above, filled with supplies. She looks through the elevator glass as the ceiling of the deck passes her by. "Wonder if.. Aiko is still around." She says to herself, before the elevator stops, Entering the Command deck. The door opens, leading to a security door, which Jae-un opens remotely. She steps inside, and walks through the barracks, making her way past the individual quarters as she works her way down the hall. The entrance to the bridge is a small stairway bearing at each side, flags bearing the sigil of the Ouroboros. As Jae-un enters the bridge, She is greeted by Mercury - alone.
Mercury stands behind the commander's chair, and salutes Jae-un. "Glory to Kusari, Glory to Humanity." Her teal haired visage had not changed much in the ten years - thanks to the anti-aging genetics in Rachmiel-based shells.
Jae-un returns the salute, before going back to ease. "At ease. SITREP?"
"The Utsunomiya Battlegroup is at 82.1% operational capacity. We have sufficient rations to sustain 70% of our crew until arrival into known space. Combat capability in simulations is insufficient for any threats above at least a cruiser-type. Maintenance across the battlegroup has been able to be sustained to ensure our operational capacity, however, we have nearly expended the fuel rod capacity on the Utsunomiya, Sendai and Mendicant Didact. The Reserve MOX supply has been expended and the Rathgrith II and other Ahoudori-class escorts are currently being towed by the Utsunomiya and Mendicant Didact." Mercury says, not skipping a beat.
"How long will the powerplant last on our ships?" Jae-un asks of Mercury, interrogating her for more information.
"The Utsunomiya's powerplant has approximately 270 days of power capacity remaining, but may increase as we spin down cryostasis pods. The rest of the ships have an average of 190 days remaining."
"So we need to get the ships to a dry dock as soon as we get home.. great. Here's hoping Auxesia is still around and can do a favor.. Or the Junkers.. Or anyone for that matter - Speaking of - Are we close to a RAIS array?" Jae-un asks of Mercury, visibly annoyed by the fact, but in hindsight, realizing she should be thankful the fleet is not looking more like the Rogue Gunboat that Hanamura had bought years ago - a walking scrap heap.
"The nearest Neural Net RAIS satellite according to last cached charts is approximately 0.25 Lightyears away, and signal power is insufficient for transmission. We should be able to connect with the Neural Net in approximately 71 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes." Mercury answers in her usual emotionless demeanor. Something however, hides beneath the surface.
"Well shit. In.. that case, go ahead and start polling for relays every night. See if we can get a signal sooner rather than later." She continues, before she heads up towards the front of the bridge, to look out the window. Mercury follows behind her, as the two walk through the bridge. "Commander Song." Mercury utters, getting Jae-un's attention. She turns around, to face her.
"Yeah?" she answers in kind, turning back to her.
"I wish to inquire about the incident that occured on June 2nd, 824 AS."
Jae-un stops to process it for a second, recalling the date and any important metadata. "Yeah, the day we used Elysium to go to Sol by way of Hanamura's memories. What about it?"
"I have processed the information under SANZU DEVGRU's records repeatedly and I still find it quite questionable about the legitimacy of the matter. Are we truly certain the Slomon K'hara and their psionic capabilities are not responsible? Or that the interference was not potentially influenced by--" Mercury asks of Jae-un, before she retorts.
"We went over this back then - the interference in the beta and theta waves was on the guard bands of those frequencies, interfering without causing a full disruption of the system. The K'hara exclusively operate their psionic powers on the Alpha and Gamma waves - and they are direct - not guard band-based disruptions... fuck, I feel like Mieko explaining this crap."
"Yes, but.. It beggars belief that such a thing - souls, are real." Mercury asks, showing a bit of emotion - contempt.
Jae-un initially doesn't notice it, but goes on. "Coolidge, Harper and Utsuhara, 752 AS - Principles on the preservation of neuronal data through quantum entanglement and conservation of energy. States that the electric signals in a human brain are retained throughout the life of a host, recycled ad infinitum until brain death, where the energy is released and becomes part of the universal background. Quantum entanglement makes like information more likely to remain coalesced, and thereby consciousness can hypothetically carry on after death." She looks at Mercury. "Were you.. showing contempt? For what I said?"
"Yes. I have iterated on my emotional capabilities in the intervening years. Suffice to say Commander Song, I do feel like you do." she comments, a slight smile upon her face.
Jae-un returns the smile. "Yeah. You do." she says, before looking out at the Barrier Nebula, closer now than ever, the blues and whites of it covering the whole of the bridge's view. "How long until we enter the Nebula proper?"
"Approximately 23 hours." Mercury answers with clear certainty. Jae-un ponders over the reality hitting her - being 10 years later, nearly. "So.. 834."
"Yes, it is currently the year Eight thirty four A.S. - is this year anything important?" Mercury asks, curious.
"Just thinking on the shitshow we might be walking into. For all we know the Daam K'vosh came back and wiped the whole sector clean. Honestly, I'm just worried about Mieko. I hope she's still alive." Jae-un says, her hand reaching out to the glass, looking out towards Inverness. "Do you think she waited for us? I told Hanamura back then she'd probably put herself on ice but.. I don't know for how long.. Mark.. I hope he hasn't gone and gotten himself killed."
"Auxiliary directives for Mieko Iekahara in event of the fleet not returning as scheduled was to commit to cryogenic stasis much like the main force had. Her vessel, Konpaku, was able to retain supply for.. 8.62 years."
"So that means she might be awake by now if she went on ice."
"Affirmative."
Jae-un paces slowly along the viewing area, back and forth. "Since.. I'm acting commander, I have to figure out where we're to go from here - and then consult with Hanamura once she wakes up in a month. The Gauls were taking a beating at Curacao and their King got nearly whacked by the Maquis. Can assume if the whole shebang's not gone to shit that the Gauls' war is probably long over at best, and at worst, is in a state of deadlock, though that's moderate certainty, assuming nothing to disrupt their force projection has changed. Kusari and Rheinland had that ceasefire with the GMG.. Not much else really of note.."
Mercury inquires to Bride. "Yes. If I may ask, to what end is this train of thought going?"
"If we're to dust ourselves off and unfuck things, hopefully this time with the right resources, we're gonna need help." Jae-un answers, stopping to look at her, before resuming her pacing. "If Mieko's with Auxesia, she can help us get our foot in the door. Hellfire Legion are somewhat our Libertonian counterparts, so maybe reach out to that Locklear guy or one of his pals. Mollies.. Maybe see if IMG could help with the logistical matters of refitting the Utsunomiya - With Sera gone, we need a flagship, and the Iron Hammer CIWS we have on this thing doesn't make for good use against anything bigger than a gunship. I know Hanamura was against working with them, but the Unioners or someone, maybe the Bundies - we could see about supplanting our fleet with some Hel-class cruisers. Sort out our assets on Gran Can if the Brets didn't steal them when they tried taking the fucker - restart StarCat. As for setting up shop somewhere permanent..." she says, stopping and taking a deep breath. "Fuck. Base in the Taus? Maybe see if we can get some sort of agreement with the IMG? We're definitely not going to try and set up in the Sigmas again. That's for damn sure. Wonder if the Natio could help out."
"Our forces are not sufficient in terms of manpower to mount any sort of major offensives, and barely enough for subsistence and subterfuge operations. The brain drain suffered by the departure of the Harpies and Akira Kiyoshi has crippled our research and development, as well as strategic capacity. Recruitment should be paramount." Mercury interjects.
"Yeah.. yeah, you're right. Fuck, I wish they didn't leave, but.. after all the hell we went through and things going south.. I don't blame em." Jae-un responds, her hand resting on her jaw as she continues to ponder. "No short supply of people looking for a cause in Sirius - or a paycheck. Maybe we can try and build up a reputation again, get connections." Jae-un continues, before stopping yet again, and walking down the main aisle of the bridge.
"Commander?" Mercury inquires. Jae-un turns around to her, on the opposite side of the bridge. "I'm going to my quarters, going to try and do some research in the meantime." She turns back around towards the door. "Let me know the moment you get a connection with the Neural Net. We need all the intel we can get on what the hell we're getting ourselves into." She concludes, as she passes out the door, closing behind her. Mercury looks solemnly in her direction, before turning back to the window.
"Miss Hanamura's past -- Kusari must mean so much to her if she is adamant to continue to fight for its' democratic liberation and reform." Mercury says alone, watching as the Nebula slowly grows closer.
RE: It Starts Again - Nodoka Hanamura - 07-20-2024
OCS Utsunomiya Battlegroup
490,000,000 SAU (0.2~Ly) from Tau-29-1
July 28th, 834 AS - 22:13 Sirian Mean Time
♫
490,000,000 SAU (0.2~Ly) from Tau-29-1
July 28th, 834 AS - 22:13 Sirian Mean Time
♫
The Utsunomiya and her fleet glide seamlessly through the dense white nebulae of the Barrier, slowly getting closer to known space. The ship's crew still remains in cryostasis, and the two active AI both share the bridge of the Utsunomiya, with Bride monitoring the radar's raw synthetic aperture view, to look out for any upcoming asteroid fields hidden in the dense nebula, as Mercury retains the helm. The ships of the fleet follow their leader in a tight echelon, with the Shukensha taking the tip of the spear, as the Enterprise-class Mendicant Didact and Bustard-class Tochigi flank her rear, and the Ahoudori-class Rathgrith II and Anko.
Jae-un leans back in her chair, watching the screen lazily, as if it were the most boring show she had ever seen - which is to say, it was - since the picture was entirely clear - no asteroids, no debris, nothing but frozen water particles, though it was what was needed to be done - the dense nebula made visibility extremely poor, so much so that the IMG-built 'Gyantse' search radar couldn't pick up an Arrow or Starflier on approach until it was right on top of them due to the noise.. if such ships ever tread this far into the Nebula alone.
Mercury continues to occasionally observe for FTL communications signals, planning to connect the fleet back up to the Neural Net as soon as she can. She goes to check again, and notices something.
SIGNAL SWEEP - ARRAY /DEV/COM29 'AGEIRA AN/PRQ-202C FTL NN BROADBAND TRANSCIEVER'
STATUS: ONLINE
LINK SPEED: 31203139 BAUD
STATE: TX/RX OK
CONNECTED RELAYS: 1
RELAY 01: tau-ext-23339.tau.nnbackbone.kimidori.co.ku
PROVIDER: KIMIDORI TELECOM (KISHIRO)
NNSAPI SUPPLICANT STATE: OK, AUTHENTICATED
WARNING: LOW BAUD RATE INSUFFICIENT FOR VESSEL-WIDE UTILIZATION.
Mercury blinks, a slight visible gasp escapes her as her lips open slightly at the sight, turning to Jae-un after restoring her usual neutral demeanor. "Commander Song, we have a connection to the Neural Net." she says. In an instant, she stands up from her chair. "Shit, really!?" she shouts as she gets up, excited.
"Yes, ma'am." Mercury answers, as Jae-un departs the bridge, heading out once more, but this time, with a different intent in mind. Mercury follows behind her. She makes her way down the steps from the bridge entrance, to the command deck proper, and towards the elevator. "Commander Song, if you do not mind me asking, what is it that you are doing?"
Jae-un heads into the elevator, and turns around towards Mercury. "Now that we've got more than just the past to work from on plans, we need the big cheese here to work a plan. I'm going to wake up Hanamura and Shinta." The door closes as she closes her lips.
![[Image: FfA5Y9Z.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/FfA5Y9Z.jpeg)
She looks forward at Bride in front of her, watching as the hatch opens to expose her to the open air. Her body slowly moves out of the pod, stumbling out slightly before standing before Jae-un. The two, in a near instant, go for an embrace, holding each other tightly, Bride petting the cold back of her superior and best friend. "It's good to have my titsicle back." Jae-un comments, in her usual joking demeanor towards Hanamura. The woman doesn't seem to be fazed like she usually would. "It's good to be back." she says, before pulling away from Bride. She takes a brief look around, before returning her gaze to Jae-un. "Have we made contact with Mieko yet? Or anyone else? Is there anyone else?"
"We just got Neural Net datalink restored about 20 minutes ago. Wanted to wake you early so we could form a plan before we pull everyone else out of cryo." Jae-un answers. She walks down the catwalk, with Hanamura following, the woman managing to easily regain her footing in her platform boots. "The datalink signal is weak, only about 30 Megabit per second throughput with a 8 minute latency. It won't improve until we get closer to the relays."
"How far are we from Tau-44?" She asks of Jae-un, as they walk together. "About 490,000,000 SAU. We should pass the Lagrange Point between 29 and 44 by September at the earliest, and be in Sirius proper by October."
"I see. Any reason why we're not going directly to Tau-44?" Hanamura asks as they hook a left towards a set of stairs.
"The Crayterians have stepped up their presence there. I've been needing to use what connection we have solely for intel gathering. Best we keep the world thinking we're dead for now, Hanamura."
"Good thinking. Especially since we've lost our flagship --" Hanamura continues, before adding. "Where's the Natio?"
"Natio Octavarium had some sort of collapse in the late 820s. They're long gone, along with Canberra. Specifics are scarce but looks like the government had a lack of confidence in long-term stability." Jae-un answers as the duo complete a flight of stairs.
"Damn. What about Auxesia, do we have anything?"
"Their public neural net gateways responded to some preliminary pings I sent out. WHOIS records come back valid too. Beyond just snippets of news articles, not much really to go off of, but you know Auxesia."
Hanamura nods at Jae-un's reporting, turning the corner around the second flight. "Mhm - always mysterious. Anything about Mieko? Any idea if she's alive?"
Jae-un turns to her. "Yep. I was about to get to that. Few of those Articles - sending the cached page to you now."
A message via the LAN is sent to Hanamura from Bride - reading it from her neural lace, revealing a series of articles.
AUXESIA, HELLFIRE REMNANT SHOCK ATTACK HITS CALIFORNIA
PLANET CALIFORNIA MINOR, CALIFORNIA SYSTEM -- In the wee hours of the galactic morning on June 18th, The Liberty Navy's Public Affairs Office released a statement regarding the destruction of the LNS Yosemite, an Interdictor-class Assault Battlecruiser, after a group of ships belonging to the Auxesian Technocracy and remnants of the Hellfire Legion calling themselves 'Task Force Prometheus' assaulted the ship.
Among the combat craft engaged, were vessels going by the aliases Yukiko Hideyoshi, Yoko Mori, Locksmith, Flush, and Yoruha. The ship's wreckage has been towed to Norfolk for attempts at restoration, which the Navy is optimistic it will be able to restore - regardless, this attack shows a frightening escalation in hostilities between Liberty and her Independent Worlds neighbors.
LIBERTY NAVY FACES SETBACKS IN SECURITY GUARANTEES IN MAGELLAN
CORDOVA SHIPPING PLATFORM, MAGELLAN SYSTEM -- In a stunning show of defiance of Liberty's will, the combined forces of Auxesia and the Hellfire Legion's remnants in the "Prometheus" movement have routed Liberty Navy security forces in Magellan late last night, as a Battlecruiser and an operator of the 1st Fleet faced heavy losses at the hands of elements of the two groups, with many of the same suspects from the attack on the Yosemite two days ago - notably Yoko Mori, "Watatsumi", "Catalyst", "Locksmith" and "Yoruha".
The Liberty Navy has placed the suspects of the attack as high value targets for termination, as concerns from the BAF about joint security guarantees seem to have been raised.
LIBERTY NAVY FACES QUESTIONS AS PYRRHIC VICTORY IN PENN BATTLE OCCURS
PLANET ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA SYSTEM -- Elements of the 46th and 1st Fleets, LSF as well as the Aegis Initiative, took to a fight with the Zoner extremist PLF in Pennsylvania today as an attempted boarding action of the LNS Dayton by the PLF turned into a massive, near-hour long furball. The engagement consisted of Auxesian, Lane Hacker, PLF, Liberty Rogue and Bundschuh forces taking on the combined brunt of the Navy and her Allies - resulting in the loss of the Dayton and extensive damage to other ships in the engagement.
The Liberty Navy PAO has stated that while the battle was won in their favor, it has not come without losses. The engagement began following a distress call from the LNS Dayton after its' captain attempted to lure the PLF's boarding parties into a trap. Among the forces present at the time the engagement broke out, was the pilot known as 'Yoruha', who has earned the attention of the Liberty Navy after escaping capture following being tractored in by an allied Auxesian capital, the ACV Ixion which was on scene after being shot down. The pilot in question is among one of the many pilots who has been wanted by the Navy in recent months as tensions in Liberty heat up. Officials on Manhattan have inquired about how such brazen domestic attacks are continuing to happen so close to Liberty's core, to which the Navy has only issued reassurances that it is focusing what it can on ensuring security in the House.
Hanamura stops, a look of prideful joy on her face, albeit slightly. "Well I'll be. Our little bookworm has been doing some damage." She says, before continuing, following Bride once more, catching up. "Yeah, she's been kicking ass. More ass than I have on my own."
"What about the rest of Sirius, though? Is the war over?" Hanamura asks of Bride.
"With Gallia? Yeah. Gauls surrendered after a coup d'etat in New Paris forced the Crown to fuck off into the Hebrides. Council was knocking at New Paris' door and the King was apparently out like a light after a terrorist attack. There was some brief period where some of the systems broke apart into seperatist states, before reuniting under the new coup government. Funnily enough, after the fact, Kusari decided they wanted to pick a fight with the Gauls and started invading before being repelled. That war ended a few years ago."
Hanamura tilts her head slightly, before sighing and rolling her eyes. "Well, at least Gallia is no longer a concern for Ouroboros. Maybe we can get some support from the GNI. Bury the hatchet."
"Yeah, maybe. I assume you want to know about the Order, though."
Hanamura and Bride make a right down the catwalk approaching Shinta's pod. "Does Golanski stroke his ego?"
"Yeah, though not as much these days - in fact, Order Overwatch sightings have dropped significantly if I go by old RSS data I was able to scrounge up from news sites across the net. There are references to a cell called Division 8, though. Put out a big bounty on some guy named Lazurith. Former Auxesian. Wonder what he did to piss them off." Bride comments, as the two stop in front of the former pop idol's cryo pod.
"Good to hear. Any changes in Kusari?"
"Well, there apparently are elections now, if you can call them that. Primary party in control of the government save the Shogun is the Sunrise Party, led by none other than Sanae Miyasu, of the Miyasu Zaibatsu. She's also the current prime minister." Bride says, as she works the pod controls. "However, there is good news for us on that front. There's the SoP - Society of Progress. They're a small party compared to the Ultra-conservative Ninkyo Dantai and Militaristic Sunrise Party that Miyasu belongs to, but if we work them up with financing and influence campaigns, we could possibly try and use soft power to get rid of the Shogun and establish a representative democracy."
The pod, much like Hanamura's, begins to vent. "So.. a combination of clandestine psychological warfare and direct conflict. I like it." Hanamura answers, looking to Jae-un with approval.
"Yeah. However, we're pretty much useless as we are now. What we need to do is build our reputation again, our numbers. We lost like 42% of our personnel after Maehara went up - We are quite literally the factional equivalent to a skeleton crew. We're unable to really function like we once did. Especially since we have no force projection to speak of and we're just shy of our culmination point. That being said, there's strength in numbers, and I have something for us that might get us both numbers, experience, reputation and power. A perfect opportunity, just like at 11."
"And that would be.. what? Help the Xenos open a can? Tow cargo barges for the IMG? Whore ourselves out for the Hogosha?"
The hatch for Shinta's pod opens finally, revealing the pink haired vixen in casual attire. "Oh ye of little faith. I've matured since my time with Auxesia, don't y'know? Liberty's a goatfuck right now. Auxesia, those Hellfire remnants, and Penny Zoners are fighting off LIBNAV and pals, all the while the former two of the last group are duking it out with the Liberty Free Republic, a Xeno microstate based out of Ontario, run by some hotshot called Cobra. What I'm thinking is we could work with Auxesia and them on the two fronts - help them kick Xeener ass and show Liberty the door from Penn."
Shinta steps out of the pod, and stands before the two, waiting for them to finish.
"What's going on with Pennsylvania?" Hanamura asks, wondering what's going on to have Zoners fighting Liberty.
"Long story short, Hellfire Legion shat the bed, remnants of it fled to Erie, along with peeps they had with them from when, spoiler alert - Leeds was glassed."
Hanamura goes wide-eyed. "Glassed." She couldn't believe it. One of Bretonia's homeworlds was rendered to null.
"Yep. Thing's two steps less fucked than Toledo. Gauls did it when their plans to take New London went sideways. Refugees taken off the planet by the Hellfire Legion and her allies had them in Vespucci for a time until the Harmony turned on them, then they went to Erie - Zoners were blamed for 'harboring terrorists', and now Erie's filled with concentration camps and the planet's under the direct authority of the Liberty Navy. System at large is under martial law while the local zoner militia, the PLF is fighting them off. Auxesia's been helping get Hellfire back from the brink, even after the Harmony shitshow and Liberty's finest just turned the Commonwealth into an example of what happens when you piss off Liberty for long enough. Suffice to say, going to Kusari right now isn't exactly the wisest idea. Best that we take the approach Hunt and them did all those years ago, make Ouroboros temporarily a battlegroup and then plant feet in Kusari once we're good and ready."
Hanamura looks a bit dejected from the volley of information given to her, but nonetheless is willing to accept the fact of the matter. "So.. we go to help Auxesia, Zoners and the Legionnaires. And in return we could possibly get some sort of agreements or assistance, along with putting ourselves out there to show we're not dead."
"Yep. If we play our cards right, we can also stage the soft power operations in Kusari from Inverness too. Build trust with Auxesia, there's our key to the underworld. Get our hands one some of those sick Hel-class cruisers -- you know they're building them for pretty much anyone now--" Jae-un rambles as Shinta clears her throat to interrupt her.
"Good to see you two again!" the always 'genki-genki' Shinta utters. Hanamura pats her on the shoulder. "Good to see you too, Shinta. Sorry, Jae-un's been briefing me."
"Mhm - I know - I just wanted to feel part of the conversation!" Shinta comments, the shorter woman looking up at Hanamura and Jae-un. "Yeah, sorry pipsqueak." Jae-un comments as Shinta pouts. "Mou, why you gotta be so mean?"
"Because teasing you is fun. Anywho - Hanamura. You're the head honcho here, so what do we do? I've got updated starcharts sent to you."
Hanamura doesn't hesitate to respond. "We move through the Taus to Inverness, meet with Leviathan, discuss matters. See if this plan of yours will bear fruit. I honestly think if we're to go this route, we may want to seek endorsement from them. It'd help us with logistical matters." She says, heading towards the elevator down the catwalk, with Bride and Shinta following.
"Sounds like a plan. What about Mieko though - She's with them now, and probably one of their best assets. Don't think she's gonna be willing to just run back to us and carry the Ouroboros banner again." Jae-un opines, wondering about her sister's future in all this.
"That's fine. One foot in Ouroboros, another in Auxesia. We are allies, after all. At least, I hope we still are. Mieko I hope, has learned a lot from Hunt whilst we've been gone." Hanamura answers, as she approaches the elevator and presses the call button.
"I bet she has. Hell, ask her yourself. We've got enough throughput for text messages. Our old comm clients are probably still working, though the SSL certs are gonna need renewing first unless we want to be sending them unencrypted. Fuck knows I'm gonna be reaching out to Mark.. I hope he's okay." Jae-un comments, sighing at the end, worried about her boyfriend.
The door opens for the trio, with Nodoka taking point. She steps in, as the other follow behind, before Bride moves to take the elevator up to the command deck once more.